History Characters / DiscworldWizards

** To further elucidate, when he started off at UU [[BrilliantButLazy his goal was to find a comfortable corner for himself]] and [[IWasToldThereWouldBeCake take advantage of UU's great catering service]]. [[SpannerInTheWorks Aaaand then Ridcully said]] [[DidntSeeThatComing '''''"hey, you!"''''']]
* {{Expy}}: He was actually created before the character he's an {{Expy}} of was, but a picture in TheLastHero reveals he looks like a grown-up Literature/HarryPotter

** When one of the wizards working under him at the HEM goes to Brazeneck College in ''UnseenAcademicals'' and makes a new {{Magitek}} computer called [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Pex]], which runs on chickens instead of ants, Ridcully is outraged that Ponder isn't more upset that one of his protegees stole his idea... [[LaserGuidedKarma until 30-foot-high chickens have destroyed Brazeneck College because Professor Turnipseed didn't account for the blit-slood differential]]. Ponder isn't surprised.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: When he's first introduced, this trope is pretty much ''inverted'', where he is an InsufferableGenius who looks down on the faculty who do nothing but move between their rooms and the dining tables, wondering why they're not out trying to improve or change the world. Then he realized, to his disappointment, that there is a reason things are working as they are and just tries to keep things running[[hottip:*:Rather like Susan Sto Helit, who initially thought she could fix up the organizational mess of Death's Domain... this [[Literature/SoulMusic didn't work out so well]].]]. Nowadays, despite his occasional stab at an ego he has a very realistic understanding of his situation and, oddly enough, doesn't think much of his own academic accomplishments (instead he's just proud of the HEM as a whole). To wit, he's become rather cynical for his young age - and apparently is finding grey hairs.

* MrExposition: If there's a reason for what's happening that is in some way connected to logic, expect him to find it... and exposit it. The other wizards find it a bit exasperating. {{Lampshaded}}, of course[[hottip:*:Despite being usually correct, he is easily waylaid by Ridcully's irrationality]].

* {{Expy}}: He was actually created before the character he's an {{Expy}} of was, but a picture in TheLastHero reveals he looks like a grown-up HarryPotter

!Mustrum Ridcully

Arch-Chancellor of Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork's premiere WizardingSchool. Combines traits of the traditional wizard with that of the stereotype of the gruff, outgoing huntin'-and-sportin' British gentleman. Far from stupid, but very stubborn and set in his ways. His mind has been likened to a steam engine: powerful, but slow to start and stop, and almost impossible to steer.

First seen in ''Discworld/MovingPictures''- others filled the post before him.

!The Librarian a.k.a. [[spoiler: Dr. Horace Worblehat]]
->''Ook.''

Librarian at Unseen University. He was turned into an orangutan in ''The Light Fantastic'', and shows no desire to turn back. This is because of the many advantages his new form offers, including increased agility and strength (and with a name like [[spoiler: Worblehat]], you can imagine he gets more respect as an orangutan than he ever did as a human).

* {{Animorphism}}: Although he could be changed back to human form, he likes being an orangutan and has taken many precautions to prevent that from happening.
* AscendedExtra: Started as a one-off joke. Now makes an appearance in pretty much anything set in Ankh-Morpork.
** Has been said to have been in more Discworld books than any other character except Death.
* BadassBookworm: he might look like a 300-pound sack, but remember that it's filled with muscle. Not for no reason is he a Special Constable as well.
* BerserkButton[=/=]IAmNotWeasel: ''Don't'' call him a "monkey."
** Don't even say the word monkey around him. You could be talking about animals you saw at the zoo to your friend, or someone named Monk Elie and he'll come after you.
* CursedWithAwesome: Not only does he have the specified benefits of being an orangutan, but he also gained the ability to read even the most cursed books that are said to drive a man mad from glancing at it, because he's not [[NoManOfWomanBorn technically]] a ''man'' anymore.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Mostly because he's gone out of his way to make sure that his name is nowhere in any of the records, in case someone wanted to use it to change him back.
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: But for gods sake, don't call him one!
** ShownTheirWork: He's an orangutan, and orangutans are '''apes''', not monkeys. He feels [[BerserkButton VERY strongly]] about this distinction. And he doesn't have the cheek flaps because, despite being the only orangutan at Unseen University, he's still not ''dominant'' - he's a wizard as well as an ape, and Ridcully's senior to him. (Ridcully, meanwhile, insists he doesn't dominate anyone, and ''stop staring at his cheeks!'')
* InsistentTerminology: He is an ape and he will insist ''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown very firmly]]'' that he be called one, not a monkey.
* NoManOfWomanBorn: The [[TomeOfEldritchLore grimoires]] in the Library are full of ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, not Things ''Ape'' Was Not Meant To Know. An orangutan can read them with no problem.
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Primate]]: When the rest of the University has thrown away the SanityBall, the Librarian is the one who catches it.
* TheUnintelligible: He only communicates through "ook"s and the occasional "eek." Despite this, few characters seem to have any trouble understanding him after a little time to acclimate.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: It's gotten to the point where people just habitually ignore the 300-pound ape at the Mended Drum, and if someone told the Faculty that there was an orangutan wandering around the grounds, they'd probably go ask the Librarian if he'd seen it.


!The Bursar

Dr. A.A. Dinwiddie ("that's Dinwiddie with an ''O''") is usually referred to only by his title, primarily when Ridcully is shouting ''"[=BursAAAR=]!"'' to get his attention. He oscillates between a nervous wreck, manic, and schizophrenic, which the wizards attempt to manage by feeding him hallucinogenic pills made from toxic Klatchian jungle frogs, carefully designed to make him ''hallucinate that he is completely sane''. The dosage frequently needs adjusting. Regardless of whatever madness the wizards have cooked up lately, the Bursar is mentally several light-years away, and it's rare for him to come out with a comment that ''isn't'' a non-sequitur.
----

** To further elucidate, when he started off at UU [[BrilliantButLazy his goal was to find a comfortable corner for himself]] and [[IWasToldThereWouldBeCake take advantage of UU's great catering service]]. [[SpannerInTheWorks Aaaand then]] [[DidntSeeThatComing Ridcully said]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation "hey, you!"]]

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: When he's first introduced, this trope is pretty much ''inverted'', where he is an InsufferableGenius who looks down on the faculty who do nothing but move between their rooms and the dining tables, wondering why they're not out trying to improve or change the world. Then he realized, to his disappointment, that there is a reason things are working as they are and just tries to keep things running[[hottip:*:Rather like Susan Sto Helit]]. Nowadays, despite his occasional stab at an ego he has a very realistic understanding of his situation and, oddly enough, doesn't think much of his own academic accomplishments (instead he's just proud of the HEM as a whole). To wit, he's become rather cynical for his young age - and apparently is finding grey hairs.

*** He's also now made a ''science'' out of watching Ridcully so he can get past all the times when he's pretending to be less intelligent than he actually is. There are a lot of times when its heavily implied that Ridcully misses when Ponder was more the InsufferableGenius archetype and far more naive.

* ReluctantMadScientist: As of Hex's construction, this has become one of his defining traits. The more he investigates L-space and experiments with {{Magitek}}, the more fully entrenched in this trope he becomes.

* TheyJustDontGetIt: The result whenever he is in the position of explaining things to the Faculty. The degree of mental scarring he receives from a single exposition attempt is determined by how badly the Faculty warp what he's said into a combination of [[InsaneTrollLogic irrationality]], [[BreadEggsMilkSquick disturbing images]], and [[BigEater food-centric dialogue]].

* PokeThePoodle

* BlackSheep[=/=]WhiteSheep (depending on your interpretation of Unseen University): unlike all the other wizards that start eager and eventually become lazy and well-fed, Stibbons started ''off'' lazy (which everyone agreed was a good start), and then he quickly became the head of [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous High Energy magic]], which all the Old Guard are ''not'' fond of. And then, to add insult to injury, [[WhatTheHellHero instead of becoming lazier]] as time went on, he's become increasingly more ''[[YouMonster competent]]'', something every wizard in his right mind finds [[ThereShouldBeALaw strange, weird, and generally deplorable conduct in a faculty wizard.]]

* BoisterousBruiser
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass
* EgomaniacHunter

* JustSmileAndNod: His standard reaction to Ponder Stibbons.

* OnlySaneMan: Depending on how you view the rest of his (frequently misplaced) faculty.

** Not even Ridcully's powerful mind can follow him once he travels deep into the landscape of the logical, theoretical or abstract. However, despite not being as technically brilliant as Ponder, the older Faculty members - particularly Ridcully - have cunning that he doesn't have.

* MrExposition: If there's a reason for what's happening that is in some way connected to logic, expect him to find it... and exposit it. The other wizards find it a bit exasperating. {{Lampshaded}}, of course[[hottip:*:Ironically, he is usually correct... and then waylaid by Ridcully's irrationality]].
* OnlySaneMan: He thinks of himself as this, but he's shown a tendency to regard the danger of his experiments deleting the local space-time continuum as a minor inconvenience, and has been gradually drifting toward MadScientist territory when he's deep in {{Geek}}-mode. Particularly as, despite their flaws, his colleagues do know quite a bit about certain magic (or rather, have seen most of the consequences of it in particularly painful form happening to their now deceased colleagues), and can puncture some of his supposedly 'sane' theories with some fairly potent warnings (however inelegantly expressed). Still, when he's not in "JustThinkOfThePotential" mode, he certainly qualifies as this, and consequently has the reputation of this trope even to non-wizards (according to Moist).
** By ''Unseen Academicals'' he really takes on this trope properly, as he has requisitioned most of the Wizard Council positions and pretty much runs most of UU. By now he's realised the reason why a lot of the older wizards (including Mustrum) [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscate Stupidity]] and tapers things accordingly so UU remains in a state of well-fed indulgent stagnation and the old days (fireballs, blood, and generally [[ApocalypseHow end-of-the-world kind of stuff]]) don't make a re-appearance.

*** He's also now made a ''science'' out of watching Ridcully so he can get past all the times when he's pretending to be less intelligent than he actually is. There are a lot of times when its heavily implied that Ridcully misses the times when Ponder was more the InsufferableGenius archetype and far more naive.
** The only other person who he thinks counts is an OnlySaneMan is the Librarian, who he depends on to keep things running smoothly.

* TheyJustDontGetIt: Is constantly in the position of explaining things to the Faculty. This is always the result. The degree of mental scarring he receives from a single exposition attempt is determined by how badly the Faculty warp what he's said into a combination of irrationality, disturbing images, and food-centric dialogue.
* TooCleverByHalf: The older wizards like to pretend that the HEM doesn't exist (as a matter of professional pride)... which makes getting them to recognize any of Ponder's miraculous innovations rather difficult. The older wizards also like to pretend that any administrative or apocalypse-universe-destroying-end-of-the-world problems don't exist either (as a matter of professional procrastination)... which makes it rather difficult for them to notice while Ponder is running around cleaning up everybody else's mess (or offer any help for that matter). Long story short: he is invisible when things go right and the focus of attention when things go wrong (along with Mustrum Ridcully).

* GasLighting: All the senior wizards had a lot of fun early on running rings around Ponder with their ObfuscatingStupidity. [[OhCrap Then he caught on.]] [[ImplausibleDeniability Now they're paying for it]] (he now assumes they're ''always'' doing it, even when they're not).

** When one of the wizards working under him at the HEM goes to Brazeneck College in ''UnseenAcademicals'' and makes a new {{Magitek}} computer called [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Pex]], which runs on chickens instead of ants, Ridcully is outraged that Ponder isn't more upset that one of his protegees stole his idea... [[LaserGuidedKarma until 30-foot-high chickens have destroyed Brazeneck College because Turnipseed didn't account for the blit-slood differential]]. Ponder isn't surprised.

* GoodWithNumbers: The only people in the Literature/{{Discworld}} (so far) who is better at them than him are Susan Sto Helit (who [[TooCleverByHalf memorises square roots]]), the [[CloudCuckooLander Bursar]] (who is currently in semi-retirement, so Ponder fills in his position), and Nutt, who Ponder is delighted to find out, is a polymath...[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight and is then rather shocked to find no-one else finds this amazing]].
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: When he's first introduced, this trope is pretty much averted and ''inverted'', where he is an InsufferableGenius and looks down on the faculty who do nothing but move between their rooms and the dining tables, wondering why they're not out trying to improve or change the world. But by the latest books he's realized, to his disappointment, that there is a reason things are working as they are, and just tries to keep things running[[hottip:*:In this sense, he is much like Susan Sto Helit - i.e. starting off as brilliant and talented and wanting to use his power to change the world... and then settling for just trying to keep the universe from devolving]]. He's become rather cynical for his young age - and apparently is finding grey hairs.

** Not even Ridcully's powerful mind can follow him once he travels deep into the landscape of the theoretical and abstract. However, despite not being as technically brilliant as Ponder, the older Faculty members, and particularly Ridcully, have cunning that he doesn't have.

** And in a University where a large waistline and long beard are congruent with wisdom and gravitas, it doesn't help that he's skinny and cleanshaven.

* {{They Just Don't Get It}}: Is constantly in the position of explaining things to the Faculty. This is always the result. The degree of mental scarring he receives from a single exposition attempt is determined by how badly the Faculty warp what he's said into a combination of irrationality, disturbing images, and food-centric dialogue.

* JadeColouredGlassas: starts wearing a pair after prolonged exposure to the Wizarding Faculty. You see, he started out quite naive, and was rather shocked to find out that the reason UU exists is [[spoiler:to keep Wizards happy, fat and constantly wandering between breakfast, lunch, dinner and various snacks]].

* TheyJustDontGetIt: Is constantly in the position of explaining things to the Faculty. This is always the result. The degree of mental scarring he receives from a single exposition attempt is determined by how badly the Faculty warp what he's said into a combination of irrationality, disturbing images, and food-centric dialogue.

* OnlySaneMan: He thinks of himself as this, but he's shown a tendency to regard the danger of his experiments deleting the local space-time continuum as a minor inconvenience, and has been gradually drifting toward MadScientist territory when he's deep in {{Geek}}-mode. Particularly as, despite their flaws, his colleagues do know quite a bit about certain magic (or rather, have seen most of the consequences of it in particularly painful form happening to their now deceased colleagues), and can puncture some of his supposedly 'sane' theories with some fairly potent warnings (however inelegantly expressed). However, when he's not in "JustThinkOfThePotential" mode, he certainly qualifies as this, and consequently has the reputation of this trope even to non-wizards (according to Moist).

** Not even Ridcully's powerful mind can follow him once he travels deep into the landscape of the theoretical and abstract. However, despite not being as technically brilliant as Ponder, the older Faculty members, and particularly Ridcully, have cunning that he doesn't have. Unfortunately for ''them'' Ponder is slowly starting to catch up by the latter books.

** When one of the wizards working under him at the HEM goes to Brazeneck College in ''UnseenAcademicals'' and makes a new {{Magitek}} computer called [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Pex]], which runs on chickens instead of ants, Ridcully is outraged that Ponder isn't more upset that one of his protegees stole his idea... until 30-foot-high chickens have destroyed Brazeneck College because Turnipseed didn't account for the blit-slood differential. Ponder isn't surprised.

* BeleagueredAssistant[=/=]BeleagueredBureaucrat: Gets every single administrative job the rest of the staff doesn't want to do (read: all of them). With ''all'' the paperwork this entailed. However, this has also given him a level of control over the inner workings of Unseen University that has effectively made him [[TheManBehindTheMan The Man Behind The Group Of Crotchety Old Wizards]].

** When one of the wizards working under him at the HEM goes to Brazeneck College in ''UnseenAcademicals'' and makes a new {{Magiteck}} computer called [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Pex]], which runs on chickens instead of ants, Ridcully is outraged that Ponder isn't more upset that one of his protegees stole his idea... until 30-foot-high chickens have destroyed Brazeneck College because Turnipseed didn't account for the blit-slood differential. Ponder isn't surprised.

* MrExposition: If there's a reason for what's happening that is in some way connected to logic, expect him to find it... and exposit it. The other wizards find it a bit exasperating. {{Lampshaded}}, of course.
** Ironically, he is usually correct - often as is confirmed by narrative passages in the rest of the books - but Ridcully somehow manages to waylay him with his irrationality.

One of the younger wizards at Unseen University - the youngest member of the UU Faculty by multiple decades - representing the "new generation" of wizardry at the "High Energy Magic" building (read: physicists and nerds). Creator of the {{Magitek}} computer "Hex".

** When one of the wizards working under him at the HEM goes to Brazeneck College in ''UnseenAcademicals'' and makes a new {{magiteck}} computer called [[SuspiciouslySimilarName Pex]], which runs on chickens instead of ants, Ridcully is outraged that Ponder isn't more upset that one of his protegees stole his idea... until 30-foot-high chickens have destroyed Brazeneck College because Turnipseed didn't account for the blit-slood differential. Ponder isn't surprised.

* GoodWithNumbers: The only people in the Literature/{{Discworld}} (so far) who is better at them than him are Susan Sto Helit (who [[TooCleverByHalf memorises square roots]]), the [[CloudCuckooLander Bursar]] (who is currently in semi-retirement, so Ponder fills in his position), and Nutt, who Ponder is delighted to find out, is a polymath - and is then rather shocked to find no-one else finds this amazing.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: When he's first introduced, this trope is pretty much averted and ''inverted'', where he is an InsufferableGenius and looks down on everyone. But by the latest books his association with UU ''seems'' to have turned this around a bit, and he's just trying to keep things running. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if he's actually being modest or not, though.

* OnlySaneMan: He thinks of himself as this, but he's shown a tendency in more recent books to regard the danger of his experiments deleting the local space-time continuum as a minor inconvenience, and has been gradually drifting toward MadScientist territory . Particularly as, despite their flaws, his colleagues actually do know quite a bit about certain magic (or rather, have seen most of the consequences of it in particularly painful form happening to their now deceased colleagues), and can puncture some of his supposedly 'sane' theories with some fairly potent warnings (however inelegantly expressed). However, when he's not in "JustThinkOfThePotential" mode, he certainly qualifies as this, and consequently has the reputation of this trope even to non-wizards (according to Moist).

One of the younger wizards at Unseen University, representing the "new generation" of wizardry at the "High Energy Magic" building (read: physicists and nerds). Creator of the {{Magitek}} computer "Hex".

* GoodWithNumbers: The only people in the Literature/{{Discworld}} (so far) who is better at them than him are Susan Sto Helit (who [[TooCleverByHalf memorises square roots]]) and the [[CloudCuckooLander Bursar]] (who is currently in semi-retirement, so Ponder fills in his position).

** Ponder eventually becomes an avid "Ridcully Watcher" and is now under no illusions whatsoever about Ridcully's intelligence.

* RightPlaceRightTimeWrongReason: As the favoured of The Lady ([[AnthropomorphicPersonification Luck]]), this is pretty much Rincewind's way of life. He's saved the Disc several times over, mostly by running for his life and stumbling into the villain's plans. You can count the amount of times he acted bravely on purpose on one hand.

-->'''Mad the Dwarf:''' You did this to someone just because they stole your ''hat''?! What do you do if they spit in your eye, blow up the country?

* CosmicPlaything: Oh dear god, ''yes''. Apparently his Lifetimer is so warped that not only does Death have no idea how or when he is going to die, with Rincewind's mere ''presence'' in a situation screwing with any kind of probability of the outcome, but he keeps aforementioned Lifetimer on his desk because it's ''that'' interesting.

* GeniusDitz: Due to his ability to survive life in Unseen University, he knows psychological warfare inside out and can become DangerouslyGenreSavvy in the right situation. However, this usually only occurs when running is no longer an option.

* NonActionGuy: Unless you count running as a action.

*** As of ''The Science of Discworld III'', Rincewind has been appointed to ''twenty-one'' different faculty positions, all of which involve little to no actual work.

Arch-Chancellor of Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork's premiere {{wizarding school}}. Combines traits of the traditional wizard with that of the stereotype of the gruff, outgoing huntin'-and-sportin' British gentleman. Far from stupid, but very stubborn and set in his ways. His mind has been likened to a steam engine: powerful, but slow to start and stop, and almost impossible to steer.

* NewMediaAreEvil: One of his beliefs. This being Discworld, he's often right.

* BlackSheep[=/=]WhiteSheep (depending on your interpretation of Unseen University): unlike all the other wizards that start eager and eventually become lazy and well-fed, Stibbons started ''off'' lazy (which everyone agreed was a good start), and then he quickly became the head of [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous High Energy magic]], which all the Old Guard are ''not'' fond of. And then, to add insult to injury, [[WhatTheHellHero instead of becoming lazier]] as time went on, he's become increasingly more ''[[YouMonster competent]]'', something every wizard in his right mind finds [[ThereShouldBeALaw strange, weird, and generally deplorable conduct in a faculty wizard.]]
* BrilliantButLazy: started off as this. And then he founded the [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic High Magic]] tower with a [[{{Geek}} group of like-minded students]] [[ForegoneConclusion and well...]]

** To further elucidate, when he started off at UU [[BrilliantButLazy his goal was to find a comfortable corner for himself]] and [[IWasToldThereWouldBeCake take advantage of UU's great catering service]]. [[SpannerInTheWorks Aaaand then]] [[DidntSeeThatComing Ridcully said]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation "hey, you!"]]
* GeniusProgramming: He made Hex, a magical multi-dimensional {{magitek}} computer, from ''ants''.

--> He wasn't interested in promotion, anyway. He'd just be happy if people ''listened'' for five minutes instead of saying 'Well done, Mister Stibbons, but we tried that once and it doesn't work,' or 'We probably haven't got the funding,' or, worst of all, 'You don't get proper fill-in-nouns these days - remember old "nickname" ancient-wizard-who-died-fifty-years-ago-who-Ponder-wouldn't-possibly-be-able-to-remember? Now ''there'' was a chap who knew his fill-in-nouns.'

* GoodWithNumbers: The only people in the {{Discworld}} (so far) who is better at them than him are Susan Sto Helit (who [[TooCleverByHalf memorises square roots]]) and the [[CloudCuckooLander Bursar]] (who is currently in semi-retirement, so Ponder fills in his position).

* InsufferableGenius: Was this until he went through a BreakTheHaughty courtesy of Ridcully and the senior wizard staff's [[HilarityEnsues misadventures]].
* JustThinkOfThePotential: The older wizards, who have seen the less than pleasant outcomes of thinking like this, are quick to point out the flaws, such as [[EldritchAbomination big green things with teeth]]. For example, he was quite excited when he found out that there were rips in time and space, much to the rest of the faculty's horror.

* MagiBabble: See the entry immediately below.

* GasLighting: All the senior wizards had a lot of fun early on running rings around Ponder with their ObfuscatingStupidity. [[OhCrap Then he caught on.]] [[ImplausibleDeniability Now they're paying for it]] (he now assumes they're ''always'' doing it, even when they're not).

* {{Animorphism}}: Although he could be changed back to human form, he likes being an orangutan and has taken many precautions to prevent that from happening.

* TheUnintelligible: He only communicates through "ook"s and the occasional "eek." Despite this, few characters seem to have any trouble understanding him after a little time to acclimate.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Like most of the UU staff, he is known only by his title.